The snake which was living inside the trunk was severed into pieces. As a grainy video shows it came out in pieces, still alive and writhing in pain. Photo of a Russell's kukri - for representation. Courtesy India nature Watch

July 29, 2016, NewsCrunch

A snake was cut into three pieces when a 200-year-old Banyan tree was chopped in Bangalore recently.

Though media reports said the snake was a cobra, experts identified it as a harmless Russell's kukri, commonly found in India..The snake which was living inside the trunk was severed into pieces. As a grainy video shows it came out in pieces, still alive and writhing in pain.

The tree was located at a government school near the Muthyalamma temple in the Rajarajeshwarinagar assembly constituency. The temple devotees reportedly worshipped the snake and were upset that it was killed.

The forest department has filed an FIR against local councillor Mamatha Vasudev, under whose supervision the tree was cut, for killing the snake.

Many said she was also a trustee at the temple and knew about the snake, which lived in a hole, but still went ahead to chop it down.

Mamatha Vasudev, whoever, defended her action, saying the tree was old and posed to threat to the childlren of te school.

Video: 'Cobra' cut into pieces as a 200-year-old temple tree is chopped in Bangalore

Rock, paper, scissors and boobs - As Poonam Pandey and her partner show, the winner gets to touch the loser's boobs as reward (video below).

July 28, 2016, NewsCrunch

Poonam Pandey, who had been rusting a little of late, has gone viral again by reinventing a popular game, Rock, paper, scissors and boobs.

A video shows the tightly dressed Poonam Pandey playing the game with an East Asian model.

As Poonam Pandey shows, for most parts Rock, paper, scissors and boobs is played in the old fashioned way. You form one of the three shapes with your fist to either win or lose it.

Then the twist comes. As Poonam Pandey and her partner show, the winner gets to touch the loser's boobs as reward. We suppose, rules permit using both hands to touch both boobs and even bounce them up a little.

The video comes as a relief for Poonam Pandey, who has not had a decent hit after her jingle boobs video.

Rock, paper, scissors and boobs has clocked 1,30,000 views in just two days.

Poonam Pandey seems to have made the video for Prodigee Media which distributes digital content under the brand WebTVAsia.

Three vigilantes are seen beating up the guy reportedly in Rajasthan ignoring his pleas for mercy (video below)

July 30, 2016, NewsCrunch

A new video of cow vigilantes thrashing a man, allegedly in Rajasthan, has surfaced.

His crime: carrying meat the side luggage carrier of his motorbike.

Three vigilantes are seen beating up the guy ignoring his pleas for mercy. One of them is heard saying, “Will you kill my mother…” in a reference to the hallowed status of the Hindutva’s sacred animal.

Another man pulls out a gun threatening to shoot the man.

The fourth vigilante, who possibly recorded the video, can be heard asking them not to hit the victim in the face.

Cow vigilantes are known to record their acts of violence and upload them on social media to use them as propaganda.

The latest incident follows the thrashing of four Dalits in Una, Gujarat, which has made members of the oppressed community go on a strike.

Milind Suman left Ahmedabad on July 26 and has been averaging a distance of 65 km a day. Though he prefers to run barefoot, heat seems to have forced Milind Suman to put on a pair of slip-ons on Friday.

The Great India Run 2016 seeks to promote fitness message across the country, a cause close to Milind Suman’s heart.

He is also the brand ambassador of Pinkathon, India’s biggest ‘women only’ marathon.

Milind Suman, who was a national level swimmer, in his younger days, continues to stun all with his Herculean feats.

Last year, he completed the Ironman challenge in 15 hours and 19 minutes, in his first try. The triathlon included a 3.8-km swim, a 180.2-km cycle ride and a 42.2-km run, all of which had to completed within 16 hours.

He is also a Limca record holder for running 1,500 km in 30 days time.

Milind Suman is running a distance of 570 km from Ahmedabad to Mumbai on barefoot (video)

The family alleged that Chandrakala had been abusive earlier as well and had installed a CCTV camera to record the violence on them.(video below)

July 31, 2016, NewsCrunch

A woman, Chandrakala, has been caught on camera trying to assault her in-laws and husband in Sohna Gurgaon, Haryana.

In the CCTV footage recorded on July 23, she is seen chasing after her mother-in-law to thrash her. Her father-in-law, Rampal Pandit, tries to intervene and grapples with her, but is overpowered and pushed to the ground.

Rampal Pandit gets hold of the the foot of Chandrakala in vain bid to stop her from entering the house.

Chandrakala then wrestles with her husband, Amar, who tries to push her out of the house. She picks up a stone and also uses a chair to attack him.

The family alleged that Chandrakala had been abusive earlier as well and had installed a CCTV camera to record the violence on them.

Amar and Chandrakala have been reportedly married for 18 years. She has been living separately following a marital discord. She had reportedly filed a dowry harassment case against him in 2012, which is in trial.

Rampal Pandit said he called the police after the incident, which is now being probed by them.

The nightmarish photos of Jatin lying in the car with iron rods pinning him to the seat are being shared on social media.

July 31, 2016, NewsCrunch

An horrifying accident in Panipat took two lives once again highlighting the poor road safety standards in the country.

A car carrying five individuals rammed into truck carrying iron rods, from behind. Jatin Gambir (25), who was driving the car, and Kirti (15), a passenger in the front seat, died after the rods pierced into their bodies.

Jatin died on the spot, while Kirti passed away at a hospital later.

The impact of the accident was such that police and passersby struggled to extricate the bodies. The nightmarish photos of Jatin lying in the car with iron rods pinning him to the seat are being shared on social media.

The nightmarish photos of Jatin lying in the car with iron rods pinning him to the seat are being shared on social media.

Kirti’s father Neeraj, grandmother Raj Rani and brother Vaibhav were injured but survived the accident.

It is a common sight in the country to see trucks carrying iron rods, which protrude out, and with inadequate warnings.

Jatin reportedly failed to judge the length of iron rods protruding out of the truck moving ahead of them and hit them, states The Hindustan Times quoting a police official.

The accident took place near Bahomajra village in Khanna on Saturday. The police have slapped a case of negligent driving against the truck driver, who is absconding.

The nightmarish photos of Jatin lying in the car with iron rods pinning him to the seat are being shared on social media.

"It was supposed to be a serious line but it has become a comic line," Arnab Goswami complains to R J Mandy of Red FM, without raising his voice. (video below)

July 31, 2016, NewsCrunch

If you have noticed, Arnab Goswami, the man who coined the famous phrase, The nation wants to know, does not use it anymore.

His often repeated phrase The nation wants to know spawned a storm of memes and spoofs.

In an interview with R J Mandy for Red FM, Arnab Goswami says that is precisely why he stopped using it.

"It was supposed to be a serious line but it has become a comic line," he complained, without raising his voice.

He notes that the phrase got so wildly popular he became self-conscious while using it. He rightly says wherever he goes he finds people saying The nation wants to know. In the movies they say it, they sell t-shirts with those words, he says.

So, now he says, country wants to know or I want to know, so that he would not be misunderstood.

There is also an explanation on how the famous phrase originated. During interviews, Arnab Goswami felt that the questions he was raising ought to have been asked by people or nation, and hence came up with the phrase.

In striking contrast, Arnab Goswami, who has built a reputation as a studio tiger, comes across as docile as a lamb in the interview with RJ Mandy.

Speaking mostly in Assamese he described himself as a ‘normal family man’ who shocks people at social functions by not shouting.

I am actually a ‘good listener’, says Arnab Goswami.

In Assamese interview explains why he does not say The nation wants to now anymore (video)

In these festivals held for public good, a large number of devotees prepare a set number of Parthiv Shivlingas with black clay (video below)

July 31, 2016, NewsCrunch

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan hosted a Parthiv Lingam Nirman Festival at his residence in Bhopal, in which a large number of devotees made a huge number of clay idols.

Personally leading the festivities, Shivraj Singh Chauhan sang Hare Rama Hare Krishna with eyes closed and in full devotion. His wife Sadhna Singh and son Abhishek also took part in the festival, which had been organised by the Sant Pandit Dev Prabhakar Shashtri Bhakt Mandal.

Bollywood actor Ashutosh Rana, who has been closely associated with the Parthiv Lingam Nirman Festival, was also present.

In these festivals held for public good, a large number of devotees prepare a set number of Parthiv Shivlingas with black clay and decorate them with coloured grains of rice.

The Shivlingas are then worshipped with Rudrabhishek, Vedic enchantments and Bhagwat and then immersed in a river.

According to the legend, Ram had worshipped Shiv at Rameshwaram in a similar fashion before killing Ravan.

Shivraj Singh Chauhan told reporters that he prayed to God to bless people of MP and give happiness.

The video of suicide on Skype is possibly a trailer from an upcoming Hindi-Telugu film Wish You Happy Breakup and the actress is a fairly known face Swetha Varma

July 31, 2016, NewsCrunch

A video of an NRI boy committing suicide during a skype call after breaking up with girl friend call has gone viral.

The boy is introduced as Naresh and the girl, Nitya Chakravarty. They speak in English sprinkled with Telugu and the boy jumps off his window after a break-up talk.

The video has been going viral since Friday with most slamming the girl for being so stone-hearted and the boy for cracking up.

The video has tell-tale signs that it is a fake. While Naresh is captured in a Skype call, there is another camera zooming in on Nitya Chakravarty's face. A cliched script and bad acting also make strong hints that it is not the footage of live suicide.

For those interested in finer analysis on why it is a fake, follow comments in the video below.

A comment informs that the video is a trailer from an upcoming Hindi-Telugu film Wish You Happy Breakup and the actress is a fairly known face Swetha Varma.

The filmmakers have cleverly released the footage without putting any credit, adding to the confusion.

Video of Telugu NRI boy killing himself on Skype after breakup with girl friend is fake